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Iraq

Facts

Background: Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by Britain during the course of World War I; in 1920, it was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration. In stages over the next dozen years, Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. A "republic" was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality a series of strongmen ruled the country until 2003. The last was SADDAM Husayn. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war (1980-88). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait but was expelled by US-led, UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January-February 1991. Following Kuwait's liberation, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with UNSC resolutions over a period of 12 years led to the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime. US forces remained in Iraq under a UNSC mandate through 2009 and under a bilateral security agreement thereafter, helping to provide security and to train and mentor Iraqi security forces. In October 2005, Iraqis approved a constitution in a national referendum and, pursuant to this document, elected a 275-member Council of Representatives (CoR) in December 2005. After the election, Ibrahim al-JAFARI was selected as prime minister; he was replaced by Nuri al-MALIKI in May 2006. The CoR approved most cabinet ministers in May 2006, marking the transition to Iraq's first constitutional government in nearly a half century. On 31 January 2009, Iraq held elections for provincial councils in all provinces except for the three provinces comprising the Kurdistan Regional Government and Kirkuk province. Iraq held a national legislative election in March 2010, and after nine months of deadlock the CoR approved the new government in December.Location: Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and KuwaitArea land: 437,367 sq kmArea water: 950 sq kmCoastline: 58 kmCountry name conventional long form: Republic of IraqCountry name conventional short form: IraqCountry name former: Republic of IraqPopulation: 30,399,572 (July 2011 est.)Age structure: 0-14 years: 38% (male 5,882,682/female 5,678,741); 15-64 years: 58.9% (male 9,076,558/female 8,826,545); 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 435,908/female 499,138) (2011 est.);Population growth rate: 2.399% (2011 est.)Birth rate: 28.81 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)Death rate: 4.82 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female; under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female; 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female; 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female; total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2011 est.);Infant mortality rate: total: 41.68 deaths/1,000 live births; male: 45.93 deaths/1,000 live births; female: 37.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.);Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.55 years; male: 69.15 years; female: 72.02 years (2011 est.);Total fertility rate: 3.67 children born/woman (2011 est.);HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.);HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: fewer than 500 (2003 est.);HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA;Nationality: noun: Iraqi(s); adjective: Iraqi;Ethnic groups: Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian, or other 5%;Religions: Muslim 97% (Shia 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3%;

note: while there has been voluntary relocation of many Christian families to northern Iraq, recent reporting indicates that the overall Christian population may have dropped by as much as 50 percent since the fall of the Saddam HUSSEIN regime in 2003, with many fleeing to Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon